Top 10 Best Cydia Apps of 2012

People jailbreak their iPhone, iPad and iPod touch for a wide variety of reasons. Perhaps a good deal of jailbreak users do liberate their device so that they can have access to the many jailbreak apps and tweaks that are offered in Cydia. While admittedly, there are many fun jailbreak tweaks to choose from, there are those that are so useful that they could not only enhance your experience but they could altogether change the way you use your iOS device. In this post, we will try to bring to you the best Cydia apps of 2012. We know that it is a rather daunting task considering the number of great jailbreak apps out there. Here is the Top 10 Best Cydia Apps of 2012.

Top 10 Best Cydia Apps of 2012

Winterboard

To start off our list of Best Cydia Apps of 2012, what better way to do it but with the top theming solution for the iOS platform? Winterboard is the creation of Cydia's creator himself, Saurik. Customization is one of the main factors why people choose to jailbreak their device. And you can't really talk customization without touching on the matter of theming. Winterboard is the most accessible solution for folks that want to customize the look of their iOS environment. Apart from being such a reliable theming solution, it is backed by a solid community of modders and themers, so you can trust that more new themes will be made available from time to time. While you're at it, check out our list of Top iOS 5 Winterboard Themes.

iFile

When it comes to the Top 10 Cydia Apps 2012, it would be hard to leave out the best file manager and viewer for iOS device, iFile. If you regard yourself as a power user, then you will most likely have qualms about the limitations placed by Apple with regards as to how you can access your files. Users who wish to have more control (even on a root level) of their files should definitely install iFile. This is essentially like having Windows explorer or Mac OS's Finder on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. iFile supports a plethora of file types which can only be good as you will be able to manage your files more effectively. It also integrates nicely with other apps such as Safari Download Manager and Dropbox.

Activator

Activator is not known as the premier iOS shortcutting application for iOS devices for nothing. This app doesn't only work, it works so well that it might as well be a native functionality. Essentially, what Activator does is that it adds centralized gestures, hardware button, and shortcut management for iOS. By using a certain gesture for example, you can quickly unlock your device or launch an app that you frequently use. System shortcuts like reset, respring, and shutdown can be accessed as well via Activator. What makes this app great is the fact that you will be able to customize all of these gestures according to your needs. You can choose to utilize a few commands or you can fully trick out your Activator to maximize its use.

BiteSMS

If you love texting on your iPhone (I'm sure many of you do), then it is likely that you are not satisfied with the default iOS Messages app. While the default SMS offering of Apple is not bad, you will be left wanting if you want more options and extra features. Fortunately with the power of jailbreaking, you will have access to one of the best, if not the best alternative to the default Messaging app, BiteSMS. BiteSMS is a very popular app and is considered to be one of the best Messaging app out there. One great thing about this app is that it allows the user to customize virtually just about any aspect of their messaging experience. Definitely a good contender for the best Cydia apps of 2012.

Safari Download Manager

In this day and age of the Internet, it is only natural for us to download just any file that we like for safekeeping. Unfortunately, Apple doesn't like it when people just download everything that they could point their mouse to, so downloading on iOS is pretty much limited to a number of file types. But with the help of Safari Download Manager, such limitation should not be an issue anymore. This app is basically an add-on to iOS's default web browser, Safari. The primary purpose of this app is that it makes it a lot more accessible to download pretty much everything on your iOS device. SDM supports a wide variety of file types out of the box and you can add more if you want to. Aside from that, you can enjoy other benefits as well such as simultaneous downloads.

WeeKillBackground

Personally, this is most likely one of the my most frequently used app. What this app does is that it adds a very simple functionality where you can easily terminate all of your apps that are running in the background. And by easily, I mean just a one-button press. By default, you will still need to bring up the iOS task manager in order to terminate apps manually, one by one. Apps that are running in the background can still consume memory which cannot only slow down your device but drain your battery as well. If you are an app power user, you could really use WeeKillBackground. The button used to close all the un-terminated apps is located in the Notification Center. Just invoke the pull-down drawer and tap the "Tap to close all Apps" button.

Zephyr

Multitasking has always been a touchy subject when it comes to the iOS platform. By default, you will have to double tap the Home button in order to access the multitasking pane. I don't about you but I think that is quite a clunky way to go at it. If you really want a good multitasking solution for your iOS device, then you would really want to download Zephyr. Over time, it has exploded in popularity and for good reason. What this app does is that it allows multitasking swipes for your iDevice. Like for example, you can invoke the multitasking pane just by swiping upward the bottom edge of the screen or by swiping the left or right edge of your screen, you can switch from one app to the next. As a power user, including Zephyr on this list of top 10 Cydia apps 2012 makes sense for me.

Springtomize 2

With all the jailbreak app releases in recent memory, this app likely belongs to the upper tier. Developed by jailbreak app superstar Filippo Bigarella, Springtomize 2 is your one-stop solution if you wish to customize various aspects of your device such as its animations, dock, capabilities, folders, lockscreen, Notification Center, and many others. What sets this app apart is the fact that it has a staggering number of options to play around with. Due to its highly extensive functionalities, it renders other jailbreak tweaks to be redundant, effectively replacing them.

IntelliscreenX

If you are someone who has an active social media lifestyle, then you will have no doubt have accounts for leading social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and many others. On top of that, you most likely have other updates to keep track of such as your email, SMS, RSS, etc. If you regard yourself as such, then IntelliscreenX is a jailbreak app that you shouldn't miss. Basically this tweak lets you access your Notification Center from the lockscreen and more. This brings just about everything you need into your lockscreen such as your mail, calendar, Twitter, Facebook, and a lot more. You can even choose to expand its functionality by installing more widgets. IntelliscreenX is a huge time-saver and it makes everything easier for a busybody like you.

SBSettings

SBSettings is unquestionably has a superstar status with regards to the jailbreak community. There are folks who would actually cite SBSettings as their main reason for jailbreaking their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. For the uninitiated, SBSettings allows you to easily and quickly access your most frequently used settings and apps just by swiping the status bar (or invoking the Notification Center in iOS 5). This seemingly simple functionality can save you a whole of time and can really improve the overall experience of the user. This is a timeless classic of a jailbreak app and personally I can't imagine myself not using this tweak. And that's why it deserves a spot in this Top 10 Best Cydia Apps of 2012.

And that wraps up this countdown of the Best Cydia Apps of 2012. We know that we have missed a lot (and I mean a lot) of jailbreak tweaks out there that deserve a spot here. So feel free to comment your favorite tweaks in the comment section.

So what are the tweaks that will make it into your list of Top 10 Cydia Apps 2012?